I'm trying to get back into comic collecting and am wondering why people will pay so much for high grade comics. I don't see why a 9.0 graded comic could be worth hundreds, if not thousands,more than the same comic graded 8.0. To me, the differences are so minor, why has a market been created around those differences that make them worth so much money?
Is it mostly people speculating on comics as investments, or is a collector really willing to pay $1,000 more for a comic to not have some slight imperfections if they are simply going to keep it for themselves?
To me, I just want a comic that generally looks nice. If the 4 or 5 looks nice, I don't see the value to myself in buying any higher grade if I'm going to keep it. This is especially true for modern comics, when the differences between a 9.8 and 9.4 seems so minimal, give me the much cheaper 9.4 any day!